Papers of the Week

The opioid epidemic is a significant public health crisis, and this problem is particularly prevalent among individuals with chronic pain. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for interventions to mitigate the risk for opioid misuse and opioid use disorder among people with pain. Given that mental health problems, specifically anxiety, are common among people who misuse opioids, it is important to examine factors that link mental health problems with opioid misuse to ultimately inform the development of novel interventions. Anxiety sensitivity, a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor defined as the fear of anxiety-related physical sensations, may be one important mechanism in elevated opioid misuse among persons with chronic pain.